by Yaakov Lipshitz

TRANSLATED FROM THE YIDDISH BY SOL KRONGELB

Translator's note: This translation essentially follows the author's original style and structure. Some Russian and Yiddish words have been carried over without translation to help convey the flavor of the original. In many cases, the original text provides the definition; when deemed necessary, a translation has been added in brackets.

Where I was able to, I have added explanatory footnotes for some of the customs which may not be familiar to the contemporary English reader. I was particularly fortunate to have been able to share this article in 1980 with my mother's cousin, Ruth Flax, while she was still alive. Ruth Flax (nee Brum) was born in Glussk around 1905 and lived there until she left for the U.S. in 1923. Although this article seems to describe Glussk as it existed slightly before Ruth Flax's time, she did recall many of the individuals and settings in the article and gave a running commentary as we read the text. The initials R.F. in a footnote indicate that the explanation is derived from my notes of Ruth Flax's comments.

Katonah, N.Y.

December 6, 1999

Hlusk 1 was part of the Bobruisk Uyezd [district]. The shtetele 2 had no means of communicating with the outside world except through the wagon-drivers, of which there were two kinds: lomovikes , i.e. those who transported the heavy cargoes and leygkovikes - those who carried passengers in their coaches. The lomovikes carted their loads twice a week to and from Bobruisk, and the others would take passengers three times a week. They would cram people into their carriages like herring into a barrel, and, if one emerged intact from such a trip, it was appropriate to bentch gomel. 3 The lomovikes earned a hard living. The way to the highway, about 45 kilometers, was sandy, and they were barely able to make their way with their heavy loads. There were two routes. The shorter way to the highway passed through Horodok. There they made a rest stop for the horses and also went into Abadanye's inn 4 for a plate of cooked beans with meat and a samovar of tea. In the summer months they used the second route --through Ladvike, and came out to the highway at Bagoshovke.

There was no industry in Hlusk. [Some of] the populace engaged in gardening and in renting orchards. 5 There were [also] peddlers, carpenters, tailors, brick layers, horse traders and butchers among the Hlusker 6 . Each Sunday they would all head out to the dorfer [surrounding hamlets] and would return just in time for Shabbat. However, the majority of Hlusker Jews were shopkeepers.

In the center of Hlusk was a marketplace with four rows of small shops. There were also wholesale stores on one side of the market which sold merchandise to the small shopkeepers. The small shopkeepers would sit a whole week without earning a penny and wait for Sunday, when peasants would come to the shtetl to go to the church, which stood on the most beautiful spot in Hlusk encircled by a hill and a pretty fence. The church had a fine organ, and the poritzim [land owners] of the surrounding area brought in one of the best organists from Poland. The Jews had no interest in the Catholic liturgical music; nevertheless, they would often listen to the beautiful melodies which emanated from the church.

On Sunday, the peasants brought their products to sell (wood, poultry, calves, flax, dried pelts` from all sorts of animals, cheese, butter, etc.) and bought all their household needs from the town's storekeepers. With any leftover money, they would stop into a tavern, order a platter of taranes 7 and tea, and top it off with a flask of whiskey. Quite often, they would become drunk and make a little pogrom in the market place. Then the storekeepers would close up their shops, and, out of nowhere, there would suddenly appear our esteemed butchers - Pinyeh Tamara's, Motel Elyeh Nakhum's, Mayer Noah Lapate's 8 - along with a couple of Hlusker konyokhes [horse traders]. And if these men were not sufficient to quiet the drunkards, Motke Ayzer's the konyokh would also be called. And this Motkeh, a broad-boned, tall, fine Jewish giant of a man, before whom the whole neighborhood shuddered, would come with his studded whipstick, give a shout "razoydis!" ["be gone!"], and start cracking skulls. The gentiles would quickly harness their horses, and in ten minutes there was not a trace left of them. A story about Motkeh's prowess needs to be told. He was a quiet person. At one sitting, he could eat a small goose with a pound of griven 9 along with a loaf of bread and a quart of whiskey and also drink down the contents of a samovar holding twenty-two glasses of tea. He dealt in horses, would carry sums of cash as he traveled alone at night from hamlet to hamlet, and no one bothered him. Once he came to a poritz [landowner], Dashkevitch, to buy horses. When the poritz saw Motkeh, he said to him, "I'm not selling any horses. However, I have a Belgian workhorse. You are reputed to be a strong person, so if you will lift up the horse, I'll give him to you free." A lot of peasants and farm-hands happened to be standing around. Motkeh thought a moment, went over to the horse, put his head between the horse's forelegs, gave a grunt and lifted up the horse. The poritz kept his word and gave him the horse. However, Motkeh had ruptured himself and wound up with a hernia, [but] no one knew of this. The entire countryside feared him.

II.

There were two rabbis in Hlusk: Rav Baruch Berl, the Hassidic rabbi, who later became, I heard, the head of Slabodka Yeshiva; and Rav Shmuelke, the Mittnagdish rabbi. There were also two shochtim [ritual slaughterers] --- Reb Yisroel ShU"B 10 and his son Reb Ya'akov; and the mittnagdish shochet, Reb Maierkeh, an upstanding Jew, a baal tefilah [one skilled in leading the prayer service] who worshipped in the great synagogue. Besides the great synagogue, there were four other synagogues on the synagogue yard 11 : the alte shul [literally, the old synagogue], the aristokratische shul [the aristocratic synagogue], the new Hassidic shtibl [a small, Hassidic house of prayer] at the old dirt road to Slabodka, and also a small, tailor's synagogue.

A river flowed through Hlusk - a small river, but for Hlusk it was enough. Nearly all the Hlusker knew how to swim. On Friday practically the whole town came out to the river to bathe. The wagon drivers would even bring their horses and bathe themselves together with the horses. There was also a bathhouse in Hlusk. The bathhouse attendants were Itsche der beder [literally, Itsche, the bathhouse attendant] and his brother Motel, a Jew with a straggly beard. Every Friday, the entire town went to the bathhouse to wash away the week's accumulation of dirt. The bathhouse was a primitive one with a single oven, which consisted of piled up stones. Hot water would be poured on the stones. A thick steam would rise up, and people would sit on the floor and brush themselves, or one would brush the other, accompanied by shouts, moans and groans.

Hlusk was known for its two klezmer bands. One band consisted of Maishkeh the klezmer, who was himself a good violinist, along with three or four more musicians who played with him. The ordinary people would hire Maishkeh because he was more available and less expensive. The other band was Reb Yoshke the klezmer. His family were also klezmer.

Reb Yoshke's band was renowned throughout the entire region from Hlusk to Bobruisk and to Slutsk. People spoke of his playing with reverence. He did not simply play to provide music - his playing was heavenly. He composed a melody, " Tkiot," which he would play before music connoisseurs at weddings. Even today, I cannot help but be amazed how a person, who did not graduate from a conservatory, could attain the ability to play with such power and sweetness. My father, who was a first-class baal tefilah [one skilled in leading the prayer service] and a good singer, called him the "great Yiddish Paganini." He had complete mastery of his instrument and could bring out tones such as few musicians could achieve. He was a small, thin Jew with a little beard and with a growth on his forehead which was covered with hair. He lived on the old dirt road in a small, old house. His first wife died young and left him with five or six children. He also had four or five children with his second wife, so that altogether they were a family of ten to twelve people. It should be understood that he was desperately poor despite the fact that he had many students and his wife had small store. He was concerned, however, that his children should become educated. His son Hirsh-Laib graduated from a conservatory in Warsaw and was taken on as first violin in the Warsaw Philharmonia. A second son, a world renowned trombonist, went to America, where he had a great career. A third, Shlomkeh, was a first class violoncellist in Warsaw. During the war he returned to Hlusk and was first violin in a cavalry orchestra; he was killed in the war.

Reb Yoshke's band consisted of Reb Yoshke himself, first violin; his son Itche, second violin; his son Shlomkeh, violoncello; his son Shneur, trombone and coronet; Laizer the bagel baker, flute; Mendel the tailor, clarinet; and Reb Avraham the wagon driver, double base and drum. This same Reb Avraham also filled in as badkhn [a jocular entertainer at a wedding]. He would call to the " dobridziens" [welcoming of the guests], to the first dance, to the blessing of the groom before the ceremony. During the playing at the evening meal, he was the one who asked the assembled guests to be quiet and so on.

Reb Avraham the drummer, a wagon driver, with a thick beard and blind in the right eye, was blessed with perfect pitch and had a good feel for the music. One nod from Yoshke was enough for him to know when to play forte or pianissimo. When he was playing his double bass at a poritz's ball to accompany the waltz "Na Sopki Manchuria ," ("On the Hills of Manchuria") he did not take his eyes off Yoshkeh. And if all went well without any disapproving glances, a smile of satisfaction would spread across his face.

A wedding in Hlusk was an important event. In keeping with the custom, the wedding ceremony took place in the synagogue yard, and the bride and groom were escorted with music to and from the wedding canopy. Everyone in the town, young and old, would trail after. Before the ceremony, when they would play a dobridzien [a welcoming musical selection] for the bride and for the groom, Reb Avraham would close his one eye and would call out, "A beautiful dobridzien for our dear bride with the dear in-laws, relatives and neighbors! Klezmer, take the instruments in your hands, and sound forth!" And here the klezmer would play forth with a beautiful volachel [a kind of dance] which warmed the heart. Warm tears would overwhelm the bride as well as the mothers of the bride and the groom; even the fathers with strong nerves would inconspicuously wipe away a tear. The main attraction, however, came during the wedding meal. If Yoshke knew that there was a music connoisseur among the attendees, he would let his long, thin fingers dance over the strings and began to bring forth touchingly warm tones. The violin would begin to cry and speak compassionately to the heart. All held their breath as they listened to the trills, which were far more beautiful than a nightingale's. I don't think that any bird could emulate his playing. It is said that this plain Jew and great artist was left without any means to support himself in his old age. His children later brought him to America, where he died. 12

III

Hlusk was mired in mud for three-quarters of the year. Only one street was paved, and people called it "Die shosayne gass" [the highway street]. This street was the setting for the activities of town life, both on Friday and holiday nights as well as throughout the year. Here was the meeting place for couples in love, for friends from Zionist circles and for members of the Bund. Zionists were in the minority here because all the artisans such as harness makers, carpenters, brick layers, blacksmiths, tailors, shoemakers, etc. belonged to the Bund. Bundist speakers would come here from Bobruisk and propagandize. Zionist activity was very weak. After Dr. Herzl's death, we Zionists convened a memorial meeting in the Aristokratische Shul. The Bundists came to the shul and broke up the gathering. They jumped into the shul through the smashed windows, and many people were injured. When the Czar's deputy arrived with a policeman and Avramkeh, the watchman, the combatants were quieted in a matter of five minutes, but the gathering had been broken up.

Hlusk was not blessed like other towns with many fairs. However, one fair did take place during the year on a Friday before Shavuot which lasted, all told, a half day. This annual market was called "Piatzinkeh" and would assemble five viorst 13 from the town beyond Slabodeh. 14 Preparation for the fair would go on during the whole year. Peasants from the region and also from Hlusk would arrive on Thursday evening to set up their tents and to sleep the night there because the trading would begin before daybreak. People would begin to leave by midday because of the Shabbat.

It's important to mention the military conscripts from Hlusk. Each year after Succoth all the recruits in Hlusk had to come to the volost in Hlusk 15 to stand before a committee which determined if they were fit for military service. In one respect, it [the military conscription] was good. There would be revenue from the novobrantzes 16 , but often they would instigate a little pogrom and help themselves to something from the shops. Then the Jewish conscripts would "step up to the job" - With special, thick sticks they would crack a few Gentile heads, order would be restored [and] the Gentile novobrantzes would be afraid to even stick forth their noses. The Jewish conscripts engaged in another activity besides restoring order. They would go to the rejected recruits who happened to receive white slips 17 and demand money from them for liquor under the pretext that they [the conscripts] were serving in the Czar's army in place of this one or that one [of the rejected recruits]. They would drink away the accumulated money at [the place of] Reb Itche Fishman the matchmaker's daughter-in-law, Liebe the widow. She used to have good roast goose, stuffed derma, gizzards and other delicacies. It was a private home, but one could always get a good supply of liquor.

The horse-traders from Hlusk were a unique group. They could be spotted a mile away - long hair down to the neck, like the Russian peasants, and clean-shaven. A horse trader always carried a whip with a good, oaken whip handle (useful in case of any trouble.)

All week, except for Sunday, they would go around without any work, and the "trading" was at the inn of Liebe die kop. 18 There they got a drink of whiskey along with a portion of fish and a good, fresh roll. They also played cards there. Liebe would extend credit and would write it down in the ledger.

The horse-traders' language was comprehensible only to them: an old woman, an eagle, a bridegroom, a bride - these were categories of horses. The trading was done with the peasants from the surrounding region. Every Sunday the peasants would come to trade horses, and in the exchange, the peasant would always pay a few rubles, and these few rubles were pure profit. Peasants love to trade horses. Indeed, it would very often happen that after five or six exchanges, the peasant would end up with his own horse.

The traders were great experts in preparing the horses for sale: dressing them up, washing them spotless, braiding the tail in a knot and tying it fast with a cord, combing out the mane and weaving in pieces of red material, washing the eyes with vinegar mixed with water. The main task was to make the teeth look right, for the teeth in an old horse had already become worn down and smooth. When an expert comes to evaluate a horse, he pulls out the tongue from the horse's mouth and feels the teeth with his finger. If he finds that the teeth are smooth, it's a sign that the horse is old. But the horse traders had a "partner" - the mufker [literally, an immoral person] or as they called him, the "tooth-doctor." The mufker would take a small, triangular file which is used to sharpen a saw and would make notches in the horse's teeth such that one could not distinguish between the altered teeth and genuine teeth. The poor horse would be so beaten under his belly with the whip-stick (so that the signs of his age would not be apparent), that he would jump out of his battered skin. In addition, they would pour a flask of whiskey into the water to intoxicate the horse. Then, when he was brought to the market, the horse trader would hold his bridle with the left hand and give him a couple of good jabs from time to time with the right hand so that, at the time of evaluation, the horse would really fly like an arrow from a bow, and the deal would be completed in ten minutes. Only when the peasant returned home did he first see what a bargain he snared. A few weeks later, the peasant returned to the market and approached the horse trader: "Hey , konyokh, davai pobitaiem konyi," i.e., "Hey, horse trader, let's trade horses again."

Footnotes:

1 The current name is Glussk.

2 Shtetele is the diminutive of shtetl and implies a small shtetl . According the 1897 Russian census, Hlusk had a total population of 5,328 people, of which 3,801 were Jews.

3 Gomel is the blessing which is traditionally recited in the synagogue by a person who has recovered from a serious illness or survived a dangerous situation. To bentch gomel means to perform the ritual of reciting this blessing.

4 Abadanye was the name of the woman who ran the inn. (R.F.)

5 An individual rented an orchard from a landowner for the season and sold the crop.

6 The Yiddish word Hlusker, as used here, is a noun meaning residents of Hlusk. Its usage in the term Hlusker Jews in the last sentence of this paragraph is as an adjective to designate those Jews who were residents of Hlusk.

7 Taranes were a kind of flat fish which was preserved by drying and salting. (R.F.)

8 These were the names by which the butchers were known. A parent's name or a spouse's name was often used to identify an individual, especially when more than one person in town had the same given name. Thus, Pinyeh may have been Tamara's son or husband; Motel could have been Elyeh Nachum's son (Motel Elyeh, Nachum's son is also a valid interpretation); etc.

9 Griven are the crisp, well-brown chicken or goose skin which remains when the fat is rendered. They are also called gribenes .

10 A shochet is a person who slaughters animals in accord with the Jewish laws of kashrut; a bodek is one who is qualified to inspect the internal organs to insure that the slaughtered animal meets the requirements of kashrut . ShU"B is the transliterated acronym/abbreviation for the Hebrew Shocket v'bodek and denotes a person who is qualified as both a Shochet and a bodek .

11 All the synagogues in Hlusk were located around a large tract of land which was known as the synagogue yard. (R.F.)

12 Reb Yoshke is buried in one of the Hlusker Society plots in Baron de Hirsch Cemetery, Staten Island, N.Y. (R.F.)

13 A viorst is a Russian measure of distance equal to about 3500 feet (about a kilometer).

14 Slabodeh was a long street in Hlusk. (R.F.)

15 A volost is the equivalent of a county. The county office building, where the doctors examined the recruits, was known as the volost . (R.F.)

16 Those who were drafted were called novobrantzes. (R.F.)

17 The white slip referred to the certificate which stated that the individual was excused from military service. (R.F.)

18 This was the same Liebe referred to above as "Reb Itche Fishman the matchmaker's daughter-in-law, Liebe the widow." She was also known as Liebe die kop (literally, Liebe, the head) . (R.F.)